


Only Cowards Choose the Path of the Prey

by Scout_bih



Category: The Inpatient (Video Game), Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bleeding Out, Cannibalism, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 10:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24349153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scout_bih/pseuds/Scout_bih
Summary: The Patient isn’t doing so hot with an open wound
Relationships: Male Patient/Gordon Bennet, Suzanne Daniels/David Miller, implied
Kudos: 3





	Only Cowards Choose the Path of the Prey

_ “Only cowards choose the path of the prey.” _

The words rang throughout the patient’s head as he woke up, the grogginess of being dragged from the emerald depths almost too strong to even wake up. Eventually, his mind cleared and he could open his eyes, blinking in the darkroom while watching the snow from the broken window float to the floor. For a moment his body was numb, the constant hunger pangs fading into the background until they came back full force with even more of an edge. 

The patient turns on his side with a groan, arms curled to his chest as a dull throbbing pain pulse’s through him. He rubs up against his arm following the pain until he finds a bandage wrapped around his bicep. His eyebrows pinch together as he looks over at his arm, the bandage bloody. He can’t remember getting hurt before he fell asleep, did he lose memories again?

Before the patient can get truly lost and confused in his thoughts he heard a light thumping on the other side of the room. His head tilted up, seeking out the source as he pushes himself up from the bed. Shadows clung to the room like fog but that didn’t stop the patient from seeing the rocking figure in the corner. 

“Gordon?” He asks, pulling himself up from the bed to his feet. Stumbling forward he speaks to the figure again, “Gordon, what happened?” 

As he nears the man he’d have to be blind to not see him flinch away from him, scooting back further against the wall. The patient kneels down, energy leaving him slumping to the ground. Closer to Gordon now, the patient could hear his soft muttering, a light chant of “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” being repeated over and over again. 

The patient was even more confused, reaching out he grasped Gordon’s arm. “What are you sorry about?” his voice more urgent to try and pull Gordon out of his stupor. When the man finally looks up and meets his eyes the patient has to stop himself from flinching back, the normal deep warm brown eyes had clouded over to a light milky white. Gordon didn’t say anything, his chanting ceased, he didn’t have to say anything as his eyes kept flickering from the patients face down to his injured arm. 

The patient let go of Gordon, the man taking this opportunity to slink further away into the corner. He stood up, keeping it slow as his mind raced over what was under the bandage. Stumbling to the mirror across the room, he starts to unwrap the messy bandage. Blood and dirt-covered skin are slowly revealed as the wrapping falls away. The more he takes off he realizes its not bandage, its cloth, torn from a shirt. 

When the cloth falls away the patient slaps a hand over his mouth to stop from gagging, a ring of teeth marks surrounding a fresh scab where a large chunk was bitten off. Mind reeling the patient looks away, breathing hard as he tries desperately not to throw up whatever is left in his stomach. He can’t look at it, he needs to cover it back up. Hands shaking as he wraps the dirty bandage over the bite, he doesn’t know what to think. Did...did Gordon do this? Did he just allow it to happen? 

‘Rambling thoughts won’t help you now.’ He thinks, a small noise forced from his throat as he accidentally ties the bandage too tight on the wound. He can feel the scab splitting and start to soak the bandage again. Spinning around, he watches as the man begins to rock again. Huddling deep into the corner under the desk. The patient watches him, at a complete loss of words. What do you even say to this? What  _ could _ he say about this, he understood why Gordon did it but that didn’t stop the pang of betrayal. 

He goes back to his bed, scooting back as far into the corner as he can. The patient’s heart hurts almost as much as his arm, his trust broken by the only person left in his world. He can’t sleep, doesn’t want to give Gordon an opportunity for seconds. So he just sits, waiting for help with the same cruel words running through his head over and over,

“ _ Only cowards choose the path of the prey.” _

* * *

“Stay near me, will you? We’re almost to Bragg’s office”

The patient was brought out of his thoughts once more as the sound of David’s voice cuts through the fog. Ever since he woke up he hasn’t felt the same as he did before, the dull pain from his arm sharper with every breath. He didn’t mean to fall asleep, not when Gordon was still there, still awake. However, when he woke up he was gone, the door was open and a path of bodies trailed down the hall. No matter how many times he dreamed the door would open, this was the one time he was hesitant to leave. 

“Hey, are you alright?” Davids voice once again bringing the patient back to reality.

The patient nods, not sure if he were able to speak if he wanted. He keeps close to David, trying harder to pay attention but his mind kept wanting to wander. They travel down the winding corridors and much too many stairs for the patient’s underused legs. Once Braggs office comes into view the patient can definitely say he’s not excited to go in.

“And here we are. Head Honcho himself.” David says, waiting for him to catch up. He feels a little winded by the time he does catch up, panting softly as he stumbles his way into the office. 

The patient didn’t know what to expect when he walked into the office. Maybe he expected Braggs would just shoot him dead on the spot for still being alive. Stepping into the room however he was shocked, to say the least, flashlight beam immediately finding Gordon. Except it wasn’t Gordon? The man he thought he knew, standing with Bragg in a doctor’s coat the bastard. He’s sure his face gave away what he was feeling but he couldn’t care less as he stared at Gordon’s pale eyes.

“Mr.Bragg. Suzanne. Found someone else in need of an escort.” David says, introducing him to the people he hadn’t just spent the last couple weeks in captivity with. 

Surprisingly Gordon is the one to speak up first, “I ah… I’m glad you made it out in one piece.” the man says, looking over the light beam still shining in his face. The patient shines the light down, showing Gordon the glare currently fixed to his face. Hopefully, his fatigue doesn’t diminish his anger.

Unfortunately, it’s Braggs who speaks first, “As am I. We thought you’d...well...suffered the same fate as the others.” What angered the patient the most was the fact that he seemed sincere, well as sincere as a man like that can be. He was angry, but more hurt than anything else. 

“You lied to me.” He said it to Braggs but his eyes never left Gordon.

“About your uh “roommate” yes. Gordon is a dear friend and colleague. One of our staff doctors… _ not _ a patient. I am sorry but the deception was necessary…” The rest fades as a buzzing covers the patient’s hearing. He looks away from both of the doctors, glaring at the floor until he feels all eyes on him once more. 

“...have you remembered anything more?” Braggs curious eyes make him want to scream, instead, he just nods and mutters “Bits and pieces.” He tunes everyone out after that, avoiding eyes and looking away fully when a question was asked. The pain in his arm was growing with each second, throbbing and pulsing as it sends pain shooting down his arm. He can’t move it without the pain growing so he switches hands with the flashlight, grimacing at the slight movement. 

Gordon slips by him, close enough his coat brushes his hand. The patient watches him go, staring at the back of his head before taking a step forward after him. He has to stop near immediately, head-spinning just from the first step. He looks over at David and Suzanne as they try to convince Braggs to come, the patient finding it a miracle they didn’t ask his opinion. 

He waits a bit for the others to start shuffling out the door so he can follow, his bare feet slapping against the concrete as he lags behind the two orderlies. As he makes his way up the stairs his fatigue hits full force again, by the time he’s at the top he’s nearly tipping over. He leans against the wall away from the others so he can try and figure out where his energy is going.

The patient automatically assumes it’s from the bite since it had been burning from the bottom of the stairs. He lifts up his sleeve and sees the bandage is wet from fresh blood, he starts to unwind it, maybe giving the wound air would help. As the bloody cloth falls away the bite is much worse than he expected, the dirty skin around the wound is an angry red and the split scab overtop turning a disgusting yellow indicating infection starting to set in. 

“-ne them show up, don’t move a fucking muscle.” David’s voice brings him back as the door is open. The patient wishes he had been listening but alas. Tuning back in as best he can, he hides the wound with his sleeve, the blood already making the fabric stick to it. He watches Gordon go, then David as they cross the path to the chapel.

“So you next or me?” Suzanne asks, he looks over at her understanding all the fear he sees in her face. 

“I’ll go, I have a feeling the other two weren’t exactly quiet in their steps.” He responds, voice scratchy and low. The patient limps out into the shadows slowly, shivering as he steps into the show with his bare feet. He keeps a steady pace, breathing slow and deep so he can just make it.

Halfway through the light shatters and he hears the terrifying screech of one of the monsters. The patient’s heart stalling in his chest as footsteps slam into the ground, gaining speed the closer it gets to him. The monster stops directly in front of him and the patient holds his breath, freezing all movement. It doesn’t just leave him as he thought, the monster instead gets closer sniffing the air. It leans in sniffing once more, closer to his arm.

The patient nearly faints, he can feel a hot stream of blood run down his arm, dripping onto the snow. The monster opens its mouth wide, tongue slipping out to swipe at the blood. 

He’s gonna die here he knows it, one taste and the monster will take him. His vision starts to fade at the edges, lack of air catching up to him, this is it.

A noise comes from off the trail, an animal or maybe a stone hits the ground, tearing the monster’s attention from him. Another loud screech and it’s gone, the patient gasping for breath when he can finally move. 

“Come on! Run!” Shouts a voice from the chapel and without a second thought, the patient is off. Limping through the snow as fast as he can until his numb feet hit the stone floor. Arms are on him, grabbing his shoulders as he nearly pitches over onto the floor. He can’t... can’t keep going, he’s so tired. 

There’s shouting behind him and he can feel the door close as the winter air finally stops hitting him. The relief sends him to his knees, hands flat on the floor as he tries to keep himself up. 

“C'mon let’s get you up and you can rest in the chapel.” Suzanne’s words are gentle as are her hands attempting to pull him up onto his feet. She calls David to help and with his hands, they manage to lift him so he can stumble into the chapel. They make it to the pews, the patient immediately slumping down, losing strength when the hands are off of him. 

Suzanne lets out a gasp, the soft light of the chapel showing the patient’s blood-soaked sleeve. Her hands are back on him, pushing up the sleeve to find the infected bite wound on his arm. Suzanne calls for David to help her as she pulls out a handkerchief from her pocket and puts pressure on the bite to try and stop the bleeding. The commotion grabs the attention of Gordon and the priest, he can see them quickly walk over from where they were previously speaking. 

“He was bitten by one of them. It seems to be an old wound as it’s infected so I don’t think we need to worry about him turning into one of those… things.” Suzanne fills them in. David is in the process of looking around for some kind of bandages to help stop the bleeding. 

The patient is struggling to focus on the others, energy leaving him as he leans over to slump down on the pew. He looks up at Gordon, staring at his pale eyes as the edges of his vision darken. His head hangs low, the adrenaline draining from him. He knows he won’t stay awake especially when someone, he isn’t sure who, shoves a pew pillow under his head. The last thing he sees is Gordon’s eyes, emotions masked, and he really hopes it isn’t the last time he sees them.


End file.
